Another way to get your news from the Chronicle

As the Houston Chronicle hits 107 today, I wanted to share something I found a few weeks ago.

Check out that box on the outside of the building, facing Texas Avenue. I haven’t seen too many photos showing that feature, so I wanted to find out a little more about its purpose. Fortunately, my research was made easy when a Chronicle reader inquired about it in an Oct. 30, 1966, Watchem column:

That box served a vital purpose in pre-radio days. Telegraph operators recorded play-by-play progress of World Series and Texas League games and the plays were indicated on the scoreboard by posting figures and indicating base runners by a series of lights on a diagram of the baseball diamond. Baseball fans confined to downtown offices often sent relays of office boys to watch the scoreboard and bring back news of inning standings. Crowds often blocked Texas Avenue during the series. It was also used to post political results on election night. Advent of play-by-play broadcasting ended its usefulness.

The building in the photo? It’s still here. Within the last 40 years, the Chronicle building has sort of expanded and built up to include the two other buildings to the left of the Chronicle building in that photo.

Part of me keeps hoping I’ll someday find an old vaudeville auditorium (the former Majestic/Palace Theater) in our building.